Survivability, TWC, Shield use, and Voln-Fu

[AbnInfamy]

Ok, I've given up the picking lifestyle but I've gone from one extreme of dying to another. Now it is purely be minor after minor though.

I got a few questions.

I'm thinking about giving up 0.5x TWC ranks to pick up 1x Shield ranks, to plus up my DS when using Voln-Fu or attempting to up hunt.

I use the TWC when ambushing from hiding, but with Voln-Fu I hate stance dancing so I just sit there and take the hits, I want to become like a walking rogue tank.

Is 1.5x TWC going to be worth it in the long run? When will it not be a high enough AS to be worth it?

Should I just give up TWC completely, stick to Voln-Fu and fist-scythe ambushing, and 2x Pick Pockets? Roleplay a bit of a brigand I guess.

Additional pick-pocketing question, what level should you be before you start trying to pull from marks? And how many levels above you should you keep away from as basically a sure catch?

I gotta decide fast because my mitigation ends tomorrow and I already blew my fixskill before I knew what it was.

Current training plan.

Two Weapon Combat..................| 124 32
Armor Use..........................| 144 44
Shield Use.........................| 99 23
Combat Maneuvers...................| 124 32
Brawling...........................| 146 46
Ambush.............................| 146 46
Physical Fitness...................| 146 46
Dodging............................| 146 46
Stalking and Hiding................| 146 46
Perception.........................| 99 23
Climbing...........................| 90 20
Swimming...........................| 90 20

[Edited on 10-11-2005 by AbnInfamy]

[Vimp]

What's the point of dabbling in TWC? Either do it wholeheartedly (fully 2x) or not at all.
Vimp.

[Apotheosis]

Yeah, best bet, if you want to avoid dieing is train in armor, shield use, ambushing/hiding, and go with OHE. In addition, Dodge ranks are teh win, and if you go with like say, .5x or 1x, shield, look into bucklers (especially if you are into dodging). If you don't like dodging, I would suggest a medium or the shield size between medium and tower.

Physical training for redux, too d00d.

[AbnInfamy]

I have to stick with brawling, I'm already a Voln master and I like the Fu, but I need to be able to hunt other stuff and have fun doing it. Hence the reason I want some TWC or something besides the old GS3 hack and slash with one weapon. TWC is a lot of fun from what I've seen, unfortunately the dying that goes along with it when I'm using Voln-Fu in the open with no weapons or shields is not.

I'm already doubled in armor, PF, and Dodge, and plan to keep it that way, and I have a 5x medium size tower shield :P

[Apotheosis]

Ok. Well, expect to die alot until you get good armor and some redux. It just comes with the territory of spreading out your points so thinly.

In the long run, TWC is more for style than effectiveness, unless you get some really good crit weighted or high enchanted flaring weapons.

Also, 2x TWC or no TWC at all, cause the loss of AS is not worth it. Especially if you dual wield Katars.

[AbnInfamy]

Okie doke. Ok, now if I bump down my CM to 1x, I can make the 2x TWC. Will only 1x in CM and 1x in perception hinder my ambush aiming critically, or just a little bit? I'm only interested in hitting the aim point a solid 60% of the time, especially since I'll have two chances.

No katars here, not enough points for OHE, just gonna go with the wet noodle-esque fist scythe and sai combo. One for the slashing stuns, one for the pokie.

[StrayRogue]

CM only factors into none-hidden ambushes. Perc, Weapon Size and Ambush training are the primary factors.

[Vimp]

Heh, if you plan to be a combat rogue then don't skimp on CMAN, 2x it also. Apart from the AS boost it gives you access to some neat skills, thats not to say use those to replace your guild earned ones but to compliment them, you can still have plenty of fun killing things in many different ways. I personally am a combat rogue and I manage to double 1HE, TWC, CMAN, dodge, Ranged, Perception, Ambush, Stalk and hide. I have Armour ranks upto just beyond Brig, I as a dark elf swing two warblades with enough oomph to do some serious damage, bonus over 2H is that I get two bites at the cherry but seldom miss anyway. I ambush fine, I snipe fine, my ranged AS boosters are maxed, my sniping is very good, I have Cman skills to compliment my blade skills, my redux is good through all the physical skills. My tertiary skills are thinner, but not adversely so, I cope and do very well at what I do, kill stuff. I'm now reaching the luxury where I can pump extra TP's into getting extra dodge for my toe to toe fighting style or hiding ranks for my ambush sniping style, or into MIU and Arcane to negate Spellburst at upper echelons.
I would say forget the fu, switch society and go with the blades, TWC is fun, but so is killing stuff from the shadows. If still in doubt, u2u me to see my training in action.
Vimp.

[Alfster]

Originally posted by AbnInfamy
Additional pick-pocketing question, what level should you be before you start trying to pull from marks? And how many levels above you should you keep away from as basically a sure catch?
[Edited on 10-11-2005 by AbnInfamy]

There really is no set level that is the time to start pickpocketing. Your best bet is to 2x pickpocketing and test it out on your own. You are going to get caught, no matter what. The level of characters really doesn't matter as much as their training. It's obvious to avoid stealing from rogues in a room thats empty.

My character steals from pretty much everyone, including his wife. It's just his style, and if he's bored chances are he'll start stealing from others that he knows are thieves.

The best thing to do is find a room that has at least 8 to 10 people in it, and learn from your own mistakes. Aim for containers and choose the items that you want. I wouldn't worry much about poison needles or jaws traps because they don't go off 100 percent of the time, and if you're trained well enough there is a chance that you can steal the whole jaws trap.

[Gan]

Sounds like you should have rolled up a warrior if you ask me.

:shrug:

[Vimp]

If aimed at me why? My ranged and sniping wouldn't be as good, I would be cruddy at ambush, I wouldn't have silentstrike, I wouldn't have rogue guild skills, I wouldn't have cutthroat... Need I go on? The rogue mangler simply suits the 'character' I have chose to play and become better than the warrior skill set and it's the character that's the important bit. You begin with a vision and then you shape it and begin to fill it out with the tools you have. Yes I could be 'labled' a type of warrior, but one that the warrior mangler doesn't allow me to create. If we must stick to stereotypes when we choose a profession then why have access to all the skill set that we do, thats part of the beauty of GS, we have the diversity that don't have to conform to norms, some of the most interesting characters are those that are not stereotypical for their profession or race. Think outside the box a little.:up:

Edited to add...
Hell, if I have to be a warrior, that'd mean I'd have to call Chivalrous a ranger, and then all hell would be let loose...

[Edited on 10-11-2005 by Vimp]

[Drew]

Originally posted by Vimp
Edited to add...
Hell, if I have to be a warrior, that'd mean I'd have to call Chivalrous a ranger, and then all hell would be let loose...




Let's not even start down that road :lol: